News Releases from Headquarters›Air and Radiation (OAR)

EPA Approves Revisions to Arkansas Regional Haze Plan

Revised air quality plan created through cooperative federalism

WASHINGTON – Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt approved revisions to the Arkansas Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP) for nitrogen oxide at electric-generating units within the state. This action is the first step to replacing the embattled and one-size-fits-all Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) dating back to 2012.

“Arkansas’s revised plan is yet another excellent example of the positive environmental outcomes we are achieving across the country from a cooperative federalism approach,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “After working closely with Arkansas, this action returns power back to the rightful hands of the state and gives them the necessary flexibility to improve air quality across the Natural State.”

During the Obama Administration, more than 50 FIPs were imposed on states, including nearly 20 under the Regional Haze program. Under the Trump Administration, with Administrator Pruitt’s leadership, EPA has turned at least one FIP into a SIP approximately every month and over 200 SIPs have been approved since March 1, 2017. States are best suited to run their clean-air programs and EPA will continue to work with our state partners to make sure Clean Air Act standards are met in Arkansas and across the country.

The FIP for Arkansas was the final Regional Haze Plan of the overreaching Obama Administration and requires the installation of more than $2 billion in control technology for minimal visibility improvement. EPA has been working with Arkansas for the last year to update the state’s plan in lieu of the FIP currently in place. This well-coordinated, cooperative approach, allows the state flexibility to meet federal requirements while ensuring the protection of human health and the environment.

“I applaud the EPA for approving a plan favored by the state and allowing Arkansas leaders to maintain a role in improving our state’s air quality. The agency’s decision to accept revisions to the State Implementation Plan and abandon its overreaching regulation is a win for all Arkansas citizens,” said U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR).

“It’s decisions like this one that are slowly but surely rebuilding trust between rural America and the EPA. I’m glad to see the EPA focus on concrete problems, like haze and other forms of pollution, and also show respect for our state officials’ authority. It’s a much-needed corrective to the heavy-handed ways of the previous administration, and I look forward to our state developing its own implementation plan, working in cooperation with—not under the thumb of—the EPA,” said U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR).

“It is a breath of fresh air to be working with new administration officials who are helping Arkansas achieve environmental outcomes that benefit all Arkansans. Under the leadership of Administrator Pruitt, the EPA has shed its combative approach on this issue and recognized the important role of cooperative federalism to achieve clean air objectives. I look forward to President Trump’s continued efforts to free the Natural State from excessive federal regulations, while supporting reasonable approaches to protect Arkansans and their environment for generations to come,” said Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3).

“I commend EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and the Trump Administration for working with the State of Arkansas to revise its Regional Haze State Implementation Plan. Top-down rule-making from the previous administration put Arkansas jobs at risk and would have done nothing to improve air quality in the Natural State. Administrator Pruitt heard our concerns and worked with the state to implement realistic goals achievable in a reasonable time frame,” said Congressman Bruce Westerman (AR-4).

“EPA believes states know best how to serve their communities and run their clean-air programs,” said EPA Region 6 Administrator Anne Idsal. “By working together, EPA and our state partners in Arkansas have established a clean-air plan that protects the environment while providing flexibility for industry.”

“I’m thrilled that EPA has approved the first phase of our regional haze plan. Arkansas’s plan guarantees that our state will continue to achieve reasonable progress. We look forward to continued cooperation and engagement with EPA on state-based solutions,” said Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Director Becky Keogh.

Under Section 169A of the Clean Air Act, states are required to develop SIPs that ensure reasonable progress toward the national goal of addressing visibility impairment in designated “class I areas” like national parks and wilderness areas. FIPs have been imposed when EPA disapproves or only partially approves a SIP or when states could not or do not submit SIPs.

In January 2018, the EPA announced its decision to revisit aspects of the 2017 Regional Haze Rule revisions and plans to provide additional guidance for regional haze State Implementation Plan revisions due in 2021.